Strawberry Avatar: Zuko at Astrea Hill!
by Emeraldegg
Summary: What happens when the new transfer student is...ZUKO? Can the students handle a boy on campus? And what happens when Shizuma and Zuko, the two angstiest characters ever, meet face to face? Can that much angst coexist in the same universe? Find out! :D
1. Page 1 Chapter 1

What happens when, rather than Nagisa, the new transfer student is... ZUKO!? Can the students handle a boy on campus?  
And what happens when Shizuma and ZUko, the two angsiest characters ever, meet face to face? Can that much teenage ansgt coexist in the same universe without the very fabric of reality coming UNRAVELED?! How will Shizuma react to the male version of herself?  
WHO DOES THIS FANFIC SHIP!? All this and more in, ________! Oh and there will be cliche's, just like in the show, and some scenes will mirror the show, as well as dialogue. Zuko will probably drift a bit OOC, but I am tweaking his character a bit to fit more with the anime personality's that usually exist. :D

Prologue:

Zuko stares unbelievingly at the severe-looking headmistress of the Astrea Hill Joined Academy, (AHJA), that his Uncle Iroh sent him to register with.  
She is quite tall for a woman. Zuko is an average 16 year old's height, yet she towers over him. Her hair is pulled into a severe bun. It is an unattractive off-white, lined with spikes of silver-gray. She wears a variation on Miator's black dress, only hers is much more simple. The shape is less like a lolita's, and is full black. Everything about her is sharp, aged, and completely dowdy.  
"Wait, Astrea Hill is a school for GIRLS?!"

The woman glares down at him with obvious distaste, replying dryly, " Yes, an ALL GIRLS SCHOOL. You will be attending St. Miators."  
Then, to herself, she murmurs, " And god help whoever your roommate is...."

He just continues to gape.

"Classes start at nine AM. Don't be late!" She turns huffily and walks away. He watches her retreating figure, and once she is gone, he snaps out of his shock. He groans in anticipation of his coming school year, and curses the whole walk home.

Day One:

Zuko moans at his alarm clock, which, after going off for fifteen minutes, has finally penetrated his drowsy consciousness. He glares at the sun that seeps into his window. The thick, heavy black drapes he put up are slightly askew, allowing the sun to blaze directly in his eyes. He curses at it, holding up a weak hand to block the rays from his sleep-sensitive eyes. He is in his room at Uncle Iroh's house. It is his first day going to the school, and his last morning at his Uncle's house. He is not used to getting up early, and is grumpy, she turns his alarm clock on 'snooze'. Then he turns over, and pulls the covers over his head, plunging his smoky, glass-orb-on-fire eyes back into relieving darkness from the offending light.

Unfortunately, when he pulls his blankets up, he accidentally knocks his alarm clock off the table. When it hit the ground, the batteries bounces right out of the bottom. His 'snooze' went on much longer than three minutes...

.........................................................

"ZUKO! Why are you still here!?" Iroh's voice booms a Zuko from the other side of the covers, efficiently scaring the shit out of him.  
He gasps, breathing in pillow, nearly jumping off the bed. Embarrassed at being exposed in front of his Uncle, he pulls the blankets back up to his neck, groggy and grumpy, mumbling with a misplaced sense of indignance, " W-what, Uncle? Ughhh, I'm trying to sleeeeeeeeep....."

"Zuko, it's ten o'clock!" You are supposed to be in your second period class right now, and you haven't even begun walking! Get up, get up! Get dressed, you're late!"

Zuko's eyes widen in frustration and he jumps up, struggling to rush and keep himself covered by the blanket simultaneously, all the while crying, " What? But I had the alarm clock, how did I...?"

Uncle Iroh replies grimly, " It's sitting on the floor without any batteries. I think I can guess how that came about..."

Zuko glares at him and replies hotly, " You're no help Uncle! Leave and let me get dressed in peace!"

Iroh shrugs, raising his hands in apparent surrender, and left Zuko to get ready.

Zuko finally let the blanket drop. He rushed around the room, grabbing pants and underwear with one hand, and in another, a shirt and undershirt. He struggled to put on pants and a shirt at the same time. He got tangled in his pants and stuck his head through his arm-hole. He curses in anger.

A voice booms from the other room, " Don't swear in my house!'

" Bite me!" Zuko cries back.

He pulls his head jerkily out of the arm hole, and pulls the shirt over his head hastily, and fixes his pants. Then he realizes he is still holding his underwear. He has yet to put them on. He curses again, quietly this time, and tears off his pants. He pulls his underwear on, and then his pants, and thinks he is ready to go.

"Don't forget to shower!" His Uncle cries. Zuko moans, and then thinks about the fact that he is already late, why not? Then he thinks of the fact that he has to walk for an hour and a half on a dirty road to a school that has showers. He decides against it.

" I already did!" He hollers. He picks up the paper on the ground that had the directions, and is bag, and set off to his new school. It would be his for all his years of high school. He is fifteen, so that is three years, three years before he saw his Uncle again, three years before he could return home. He groans. He couldn't believe he is being sent to a private school - an ALL GIRLS private school. And they had uniforms! What kind of uniform am I going to have to wear? He wonders in horror.

He set off to the ugly dirt road that led to his new school.

By the time he got there, it is 11:30. By the time he got through registration, he estimates, it would be about lunch time. As he approaches the gates, a rip in his pants, smelling of sweat, dirty and exhausted, the head mistress appears from seemingly nowhere. He groans inwardly. He stops and bows, murmuring, " Ohayo Gozaimazu."

He had learned that from his Japanese-Instructor in a Japanese-as-a-second-language class a long time ago. He is still shaky with most Japanese customs, but had pretty much mastered the basics.

The lady looks at him with open disgust. She snaps at him," Just like a boy to be late and come to school like this!"

Zuko felt his anger beginning to rise, and his hand on the strap of his backpack, slung over his shoulder, tightens it's grip.

The lady shook her head and sighs. " Alright, i suppose exceptions must be made. Go to the cafeteria, you will receive your schedule and be assigned a dorm-mate afterward.

Anger gave way to surprise as he cries, " I'm getting a roommate?" he cries.

She glances at him sourly and replies " YES, you ARE. I will send the Student Council President down here to show you to the cafeteria."  
She turns and walks away.

He stares at her back, angry at her smugness, and flung his hand after her, only on finger lifts from the knuckles, as he angrily flicks her off, shaking his hand defiantly at the arrogant woman.

After he finally pulls his hand down, he murmurs, " Bitch..." And turns around to find a bathroom, but as soon as he did, he is met with a gently smiling face. The first thing he notices before he cries out in surprise and steppes back, is silver. Bright, shining silver.

Then, of course, he cries out in surprise and took a few hasty steps back.

He saw that flash of silver first, before he took in the rest of this person, once again. It is hair.  
Thick, huge amounts of hair. It shone beautifully in the fluorescent lights, flashing a white every time the light hit it right.  
Uneven bangs frames a face, which he now looks at. The next thing that pops out is this person's eyes. They were captivating, intense, and gentle, even inviting, all at once. He didn't think such a combination could exist without each quality canceling out the others, but he is forced to believe what he saw.

Her eyes were deep shade of a color that Zuko could only describe as tree-sap; a deep brown, but in it's depths, a dully shining gold is veiled. It seems here eye's never end, and her pupils were so dark that they didn't even seem to reflect light. They shimmers with her body - she is about the same height as him, but of course, they were shapes totally different. She had the voluptuous curves of a goddess. Her breasts were full and shapes, almost beyond looking real. Her waist is almost absurdly skinny, and her hips had a pleasant, soft fullness. Everything about her is soft, elegant, and basically beautiful. She is absolutely drop-dead gorgeous.

He realizes she hadn't spoken yet, and that he had not either. He had been lost in her beauty, literally rendered speechless. And she had actually given time for him to do so. It embarrasses the crap out of him, and kind of pisses him off that she could be so assuming. Sure, she is beautiful, but she didn't have to assume that she is beautiful

Her smile deepens warmly, and she said in a voice that is surprisingly womanly, deep, rich, yet soft, " You shouldn't say words like that about the headmistress."

Then she leans conspiratorially in his ear, and whispers, "At least no when she's around...."

His face of total shock and wonder turns into annoyance and embarrassment, and he bows unwillingly, mumbling, " Ohayo, I'm Zuko Basco, pleased to meet you..."

She murmurs in reply, sounding a bit bored, " Pleased to meet you, Basco-Chan, I'm the honorable head of the three schools of Astrea Hill, Etoile-Sama."

He looks up in shock and, forgetting himself, he cries, " You're the head of the schools? What about the headmistress?"

She looks at him, faintly amused, and asked, " Eh? You do not know of the Etoile?"

He just looks confused.

She sighs goodnaturedly, and said," Then I suppose I will have to tell you. The Etoile is the head of the schools. She is responsible for dealing with the students and their well-being. In all senses, I am head of not only the student council, but the schools as well. The headmistress is responsible for all financial aspects of the school, but the Etoile covers everything else. Plus she must mediate between schools and students, and between the schools themselves. The president of the student council answers to me, and assists me." Then she smiles again. " It is my pleasure to meet the first boy to ever attend St. Miator, Basco-Chan."

" It is my honor to meet you, Etoile-Sama!" He cries, bowing again. Then he looks up sheepishly. " And it's Zuko. Er, Zuko-Chan or whatever. I'm not native to Japan, so I'm not really..."

" That's alright." She murmurs, chuckling, and once again leans right into his ear, sending waves of heat through him, " I do hope we will get to know each other much... much better, don't you agree, Zuko-Chan?"

Zuko looks up at her, and swallows hard. For once, it seems he had met his match - he didn't know if he could handle this much woman.

They get to the lunchroom, and Shizuma, as she has now told him her actual name is, " Hanazono Shizuma. But please, it's just Shizuma.", opens the door for him. He nods politely, and looks in. The loud clamoring of a usual day in the cafeteria suddenly dies down, little by little, until it is absolutely silent.

Zuko winces, and turns to see- nobody. Shizuma has run off again. He swallows nervously and turns back to the crowd of girls staring boldly at him. He begins to make his way in, not looking at anybody.

Slowly, whispering starts.

" Is that a boy?!"

" A boy in Miator?"

"What is she wearing, is that even a girl?"

"No, I heard...'

"I heard it is a girl, but she was deformed at birth, and has guy parts!"

" I heard his dad bought off the headmistress to let him stay here so he could indulge in his perverted fantasies!"

"Eww, gross!"

" Do you think that... thing on his face is real?"

"Eww, what's wrong with his face?"

A red tint, a mixture of anger and embarrassment sweeps over his face. He clears his throat loudly, and looks directly at a group of nearby gossipers hard. They go silent instantly, and stare down at their plates.

He rolls his eyes in dismay. He doesn't want to have to get along with other students by threatening them.

A girl with blue hair, cut asymmetrically, walks over to him in a black lolita dress, identical to the Etoile's. She commands instant attention and respect, much like Etoile, but for different reasons. Etoile makes you feel like she could just turn you into her plaything at a moments notice. Miyuki, on the other hand, has the air of a police officer. She makes you stand up straight without asking,  
and she makes you want to be a better person so that if she judges you, she judges you well.

Zuko pust his chopsticks down and bows his head uncertainly. " Ohayo, um..."

She stares at him hard for a moment, and Zuko begins to sweat, fearing that he had done something wrong.  
He does not want to be on bad terms with this girl. She stares for a moment longer, and then her face softens, and she smiles.

"Welcome to St. Miator's school for girls, ahh." She waits expectantly for Zuko to introduce himself.

He stares uncomprehendingly for a moment, then hastily bows, mumbling, " O-oh, uhh, Zuko, um, Zuko Basco, ma'am." He mumbled, uncertainly.

" Zuko-chan, then. I am Miyuki Rokujou, Miyuki-san. Please greet the Etoile before you resume eating."

Zuko looks up and nods. Then, hesitantly, " I met her this morning. She's..." He looks up and ponders how to describe the girl.

Miyuki can't help but chuckle at the look of wonder that crosses the young man's face when he thinks of her. Ahh, Shizuma.  
So you've recognized a challenge already, eh?

" Yes, Shizuma-Sama is very beautiful. She is the most loved of the schools. Or maybe that's just it. As far as I know, she's simply the most loved. Certainly the most talked about!" Miyuki now looks at Zuko, almost apologetically. " But perhaps with Zuko-chan,  
that will change. A boy has never even been permitted to enter the campus before, not even student's fathers. I hope you will accept the popularity you gain without abusing it. And as for Shiz- er, Etoile-Sama, you will be getting to know her better, I suppose. You have been assigned as her dorm-mate."

Zuko is taken aback. " W-we'll be sharing a room?"

"Why yes, didn't she tell you?"

Zuko wordlessly shakes his head.

Tsk, tsk, Shizuma, you have definately marked him. I suppose he's your plaything now. *Sigh*

"Well, although Zuko-chan has met her, formalities are formalities, so Zuko-chan must greet her. Regulation, after all.  
After lunch, your dorm-mate will take you to get fitted for your uniform, and show you to your room."

Zuko groans. " Please tell me I don't have to wear a dress! I mean, sure, they're cute and everything, especially on girls," Here he paused to look around the room, appreciating the 'view'," But they aren't exactly guy-friendly."

Miyuki laughs. " Zuko-chan, if I were a crueler person, I would tell you that regulations are regulations, but I'm going to tell you the truth, simply because the look on your face was already priceless! no, we will custom order you a uniform. I've seen a draft, and it looks a bit like the uniform from my favorite manga, Vampire Knight. For boys, of course. But about Zuko-Chan meeting Etoile-Sama, I think I see her now, so we need to get going before she runs off again!"

Zuko stands up hastily from the table, wondering what 'manga' meant, and what a 'Vampire Knight' was. He rushes after Miyuki, looking around to see Etoile, straining for a glimpse of the flash of white hair. He is slightly surprised that he didn't immediately spot her - she is rather tall,  
and even though all the girls had odd haircolors, Shizuma's is such a striking color, where could she...?

" We meet again...." A deep, gentle voice murmurs directly in his ear, from right next to his head. Zuko jumps, nearly tripping over himself.

Shizuma is standing directly behind him, that innocent, subtly smug expression on her face again.

" M-miss, er, I mean, Etoile-Sama, um congratulations, I mean, I mean welcome, no, ah-"

"Pleased to make your aquaintance, Zuko-chan."

" I-I.... PleasedToMakeYourAquaintance, Shiz- er, Etoile-Sama, PleaseTakeCareOfMe!!!" He cries, bowing absurdly low.

She smiled again, flirty but not in bad taste, and walked right up to him. Intimidating, but not threateningly. She put her hands on his shoulder's, and leaned into his face. The smell and heat of her breath alone was too much for Zuko, but with the addition of her intense eyes so close, and her sumptuous body right up on him, he could barely breathe. Shizuma kissed one cheek, then the other, and pulled back to look into his furiously blushing face, eyes glazed, and winked.

Then she said with a playful smile, " That's how we greet here in Japan!" She then murmured, " Now, we have to go get you fitted for your uniform..."

She let him go and turned to leave, and Zuko's legs nearly gave out. How could that girl have such an effect on me!? He wondered in amazement. She's only, like, seventeen! He walked on shaky legs after her.

............................................................

PAGE ONE.

So? DO YOU LOVE IT? Please R&R and encourage me to write this story to it's fullest! :D 


	2. Page 2 Chapter 1

**PAGE TWO: Shizuma must fit Zuko for his new uniform, and show him to... their dorm. XD Enjoy!**

They finally made it to the little office for uniforms. The nondescript little woman looked Zuko up and down critically, and sighed. " We're going to have to actually take all of Zuko-chan's measurements, rather than just estimating small, medium or large. Gah! Having a boy in the school is so much trouble..."

She bickered to herself, turning away, rifling through files, and procured a role of measuring tape. She turned to Shizuma, and to Zuko's amazement, _bowed. _She murmured, " Etoile-sama, would you be so kind as to take this boy's measurements? I'm fretfully busy, and I happen to know that the headmistress suspended all your work today to show him around..."

Shizuma smiled benevolently and replied," Yes, Nakamura-san, certainly I would love to help." The lady bowed again hastily and gave her that measuring tape, then buried herself again in paperwork. Shizuma went into the dressing room. Zuko stood awkwardly, unsure of whether to follow. Then, Shizuma poked her head out of the curtain, curiously, and said, " Well?"

Zuko hurried in.

...........................................

"Okay, stand straight up, back against the wall." Shizuma instructed, and Zuko did so nervously - It sounded like she was a police officer, about to search him for something. She took the measuring tape and started to use it, when she sighed and shook her head. " No, no, take off your shoes." He did so, and she measured his height. " Alright, now take off your shirt - I need a waist and hip measurement and I doubt Zuko-chan wants to take off his pants." Then she looked at him rather provocatively, and murmured thoughtfully, " Or do you?"

Zuko went red immediately and wasted no time ripping off his pants tearing off his shirt. He would much rather keep his pants on. _ Or do you? _ His mind mirrorred Shizuma's voice and he shivered. Shizuma then went about measuring again. She measured just above the hip bone. She put two fingers inbetween his skin and the tape, making him gasp slightly. " W-what are you doing?" He managed. She smiled without looking at him, pulling the tape slightly tighter around him. " I'm making an allowance for your pants to not _choke _you when you lean over!" She said, perilously close to laughing.

She pulled the measurement away, and murmured a number to herself, writing down on a little pad of paper. The she pulled the tape around the roundest part of Zuko's little butt, her face leaning into his stomach as she got it all the way around. He gasped very quietly. Just as quickly as it happened, it was over, and she wrote down something else. Then, she leaned right up into his face, her arms both around him. " W-wha..?" She had the tape going around his back, an leaned with the other hand to pull it around. She pulled it over his shoulder blades, and to his muscled chest. He instinctually flexed his pecks, his whole body was tensing.

She smiled up at him, and put a hand on his chest. It was the most delicate, thin-but-not-bony hand he had ever seen. Even just her hands were so graceful that he was blown away. She pat his chest softly, and said, " Now, now, relax, Romeo, you can't be so rigid when I'm measuring you!"

Slowly, he relaxed his muscles with obvious effort. Once again, she measured him, and once again, she pu two fingers inbetween skin and tape. Her hand this time rested softly inbetween his upper abs. Then she wrote down the numbers, and went to stand behind him. From above his head he saw her hands coming down with the tape, gently, so that the tape rested on the front of his neck. She fiddled with it for a second, never once tightening it uncomfortably, and got the results.

15 aching minutes, and hey had finally finished it. Zuko was exhausted. And he needed to take a shower, before she saw anything... weird...

.......................................................

After she had finished showing him around the school. to all his classes, he insisted that she show him immediately to the dorms - he _really _needed to take a shower!

Once they got there, he ran inside to the bathroom, ripping off his clothes nearly before he got to the bathroom.

Zuko allowed the cold water pouring over his face to cool him off. He sighed raggedly as his... 'friend' down there began to calm down. Suddenly, he heard a voice calling from the otherside of the shower door, ' I've ordered you a robe, it just came in - I'll leave it here!"

He could barely see the outline of the silver-haired girl from the other side, and called back, " R-right! Okay, thanks!"

He saw her head nod in acknowledgement, and heard the door click when she left. He sighed, relieved, and finished taking his shower.

When he dried off and went to find this 'bathrobe', and saw that unfortunately, it was black.... tinged with pink. He groaned, but saw that he had nothing else to wear. He pulled it on reluctantly, and stepped outside the door to take a first actual look at his new dorm. It was a pretty nondescript room, bland, dull yellow wall color, nice, wood furniture, a big, roomy queen-sized bed with a feather-duvet, pretty standard... Wait, what? Zuko did a double take at the room. There was only one bed. _Am I going to sleep on the floor? _He wondered miserably. _That SUCKS! _

Shizuma suddenly dropped down from the ceiling in a spiderweb stood up from the desk, where she subtly set a photo frame down, and he saw that she was dressed in a similar robe. Except, of course, hers fit her lush frame - The top of the robe was parted slightly to reveal her cleavage. She smiled at him, for once losing her playful seductivness, and said, " I'm sure you've noticed by now that there is only one bed, which we will be sharing for the time being."

He stared at her. _Umm, I don't think I heard her right..._

Then, of course, her sly, enticing smile came back, and she said playfully, " I hope you won't take advantage of poor little ol' me!"

He had actually been thinking the other way around...

Her gaze dropped down a bit, and she added, " Nice abs."

He realized that his robe-top had slipped down considerably, and embarrassed, he pulled it up and tied it tightly aound him, saw that she had climbed into bed. She looked up at him with a surprisingly sober expression, and patted the bed for him to join her. Hesitantly, he sat down beside her. She sighed, looking up at the ceiling, and lay back. _How long has it been? _She wondered vaguely. _Since I shared a dorm... _

Zuko coughed nervously. Reminded of her current dorm-mate. She turned her head over to him, and looked up into his eyes. She hadn't seen a boy's face in so long. She didn't mind his scar, it seemed to suite him. She knew, though, that it must be hard for him. _So hard... I can see it in his eyes, the pain he feels when someone looks at him. I wonder if my eyes betray me so? _

He was nervously anticipating her saying something, laying next to him like that. She suddenly made a move, leaning her head up, looking at him with those eyes, searching for something. he waited, perfectly still, and when he finally thought she might speak, she lay her head on his lap, and closed her eyes.

He stared for a moment, and hesitantly, after several moments of deliberation, put his arm around her, and pulled the blanket on her back, which moved slowly with each even, sleeping breath.

..........................................

**Well? Anybody want me to continue? Zuko at Astrea... Obviously, there's no bending. Also, I'm considering, in one of the later chapters, transferring another Avatar character in... Any feedback on that? Oh, and don't suggest characters, if I bring any in, there would only be one character. And there might be a couple of my own characters in here, namely, the triplets, Chiaki, Keimi, and Aki! ;D**


	3. Page 1 Chapter 2

**Ch.2 ! Pg. 1 Zuko spends his first full day at Astrea! Also, enter my new characters, 'the triplets', Chiako, Keimi, and Aki Leiko. All girls, all identical twins! **

_**Shizuma's POV:**_

_**Shizuma woke with a start. She was not used to sleeping at this angle. She looked up, already fully awake, and saw the sleeping boy she now shared a dorm with. She smiled. My, she had never known that boys could be so cute! ' He's mine now. My little Zuko-chan, I wonder if you will prove to be more interesting than the girls I meet at this dreadfully tiresome school?' She sighed again, upon seeing his scar. ' My beautiful flower was scorched in the sun - I hope I will be the one to provide his shade...' She thought. Delicately, she reached out a hand, and traced it with her finger. ' Who would want to do such a thing? I wonder if he will ever tell me...' Zuko moaned in his sleep, startling her. She pulled her hand away quickly, and started to get up, when she saw that all was not well in his dream-land.**_

_**Zuko's face turned from his cute sleeping face into a mask of fear, eyebrows turned up, and he began to squirm and writhe. He began to make little fearful squeaking sounds, flipping about in his bed. Shizuma quickly leaned down and wrapped her arms around him, holding him tightly, rocking him gently as he began to quietly weep. Even Shizuma was moved by the quality of his crying. After a bit of her holding him, he began to settle down, and much to Shizuma's amusement, his thumb went to his mouth, and his face was utterly serene once again. She reached down and lightly lay her lips on his cheek, then rose to get dressed. She had a lot to get done that morning, and she was feeling to complacent to try to dodge Miyuki....**_

Zuko stirred finally at about 8:30, disoriented and groggy. The alarm clock was nothing like the blaring, angry, emo, death-metal tune his own clock played at home. This one reminded him of Shizuma herself - it was a mellow song that slowly gained volume, a band singing that Zuko vaguely recognized as The Beatles', " Don't Let Me Down." He got up tiredly, looking around, trying to figure out where he was. As his memory slowly returned, he saw that he was in a dorm, and the second thing he saw, or rather, didn't see, was Shizuma. She had already left a couple hours ago. He stretched lethargically, and glanced at the clock. He had thirty minutes to get dressed. He cursed, and jumped out of bed. _Will I ever get up on time? _He wondered miserably.

Zuko hurried along the hall, trying to remember the directions Shizuma had given him before they had gone to the dorm. _Collect your uniform at Nakamura-san's station, change and then report to Kaiyuru-san's class - That's your first period class, you'll remember, geometry. Don't be late, the head mistress does not make more than one exception for each student. Curfew is at 6:00 _sharp.

He was so lost in trying to remember, he didn't notice Chiyo-chan walking in front of him until he ran right into her, sending them both toppling onto the floor, him on top of her.

" G-gomen, gomenasai, that was my fault, gomen, gomen..." She looked up at him now, for the first time, and her eyes widened. Zuko thought at first it was in fear, or disgust, and his cheeks turned red with embarrassment. He didn't usually get angry anymore, or even embarrassed, but this time, it was such a shock to the girl who he had practically fallen on, he knew he must be ten times uglier with the fact that she had expected to look up and see a pretty, porcelain girl's face. He quickly jumped up, and reached a hand down hesitantly, not sure if she would accept it, to help her up. He didn't meet her eyes. She took his hand and stood up slowly, her eyes never leaving his face. Or specifically, his eyes.

In a state of amazement, she whispered, " You have really pretty eyes!" Zuko looked up in shock, and then turned to her, almost frantic.

"Y-you aren't disgusted with the way I look?" He practically cried at her, in absolute amazement.

She took a wary step back at his vehemence, but replied cheerily,"Of course not! I think you're...."

Suddenly, Chiyo realized she was saying to much, and went red. " G-gomenasi, I have to get to class.." She murmured, hurrying away. Zuko stared after her, unable to believe what just happened. _She was... Oh my God, she was reacting to me the way I react to Shizuma! She has a crush on me! _Realizing that this was the first girl he had ever known to have a crush on him, he burst out laughing in the middle of the hallway. The girls around him stopped talking, and stared as he walked by.

Zuko had, by now, gotten his uniform, and was changing hurridly in the bathroom in his dorm. He finally got his tie on, and was finished.(*) He looked in the mirror and sighed. _I swear, they're all going to be making fun of me..._

He stepped outside his dorm, and there was Chiyo-chan! Startled, he asked, " O-oh, it's you again! Um, I'm sorry, I didn't catch your name..."

She smiled, embarrassed, and looked down, murmuring, " I'm Chiyo-chan. I'm Zuko-san and Etoile-Sama's room temp." She looked up at a nearby clock, and pointed out, " Oh, it seems like it's nearly nine - shouldn't Zuko-san be heading to class?" She asked curiously. Zuko looked up, and realized she was right, crying out, and rushed down the hall, without bothering to say goodbye to Chiyo-chan.

He ran down the hall, and until he got to the stairs, he was moving silently, and lithely, on sure feet. But then came the stairs, which he did not expect. He had to make a split second decision, but he waited a moment too long, and when he decided to stop, rather than run down the stairs, he only ended up getting tangled in his feet, his right foot hooking his left ankle, and went crashing down the steps, in huge circles. The steps went down quite far, as it was the main hallway, and the loud crashes his body made every time it hit a stair attracted a lot of attention. Shizuma happened to be nearby, and wondered what all the ruckus was. Miyuki's head popped out of a class nearby, and she cried out in surprise when she saw Zuko flying down stair by stair. All the girls were gasping in horror.

Just when he was about to hit the concrete floor and deliver an almost lethal blow to his head, to top off the damage done by the carpeted stairs, Shizuma leapt in between him and the floor and caught him in her arms, carrying him like a child. ( Which was actually rather hard to do, seeing as how he was a couple inches taller than her.) He moaned, trickles of blood flowing from his head and his mouth.

She looked up, all business, and cried to Miyuki, " Quickly! Call the sister!" While Miyuki scurried off, Shizuma glanced over at Tamao-chan, Chiako-chan and Aki-chan, and cried, " Give me your neckties!" The girls looked surprised, but quickly pulled them off. All the girls around Shizuma had immediately, without even realizing it, relaxed when Shizuma took charge. They all felt safe around her - She had the kind of personality that made it easy to give up power. " Good, now Chiako-san, get me some peroxide, Tamao-san, Aki-san, get me ice cubes!"

She looked around for someone else to enlist as the previously mentioned girls bustled off, and spotted Keimii-chan. " Keimii-san! Come here, quickly!" Keimii hurried over, awaiting instruction. " Hold the back of his head, _carefully! _Carefully keep him steady while I wrap his jaw - Ii may be broken." Keimii quickly took Zuko's head in her hands, oh-so-carefully, while Shizuma pulled the girl's neckties around his head, wrapping his jaw and head carefully. She saw that his nose was bleeding as well.

She pulled out the tissues she kept in her dress-pocket, carefully plugging up his nose, and pinched, gently, of course, the hard part of his nose. Zuko moaned, his mouth, which was now bleeding a bit more, opened, and Shizuma saw that one of his teeth had been chipped. Silently, she chided him for running. _What would I have done if my cute little Zuko-chan had gotten himself killed? _The word brought back a biting memory, and she bit her own lip hard to keep in control.

Zuko suddenly tried to lean up, his eyelids fluttering, trying to open. Shizuma gently pressed her hand on his chest, pushing him back down.

" Shhh... Just lay still and quiet, and focus on staying awake!" She instructed in a quiet, but insistent whisper. Chiako-chan came rushing over with some peroxide, and Shizuma took it silently. She took another tissue and poured a bit of the clear liquid onto it. Carefully, knowing it would sting, she began to dab the stuff on his various wounds. Zuko hissed with pain as the bacteria was burned away. She leaned in, and pulled out his bottom lip a bit, dabbling the split lip with peroxide. This time, Zuko cried out with pain.

Tamao-chan and Aki-chan ran over with the ice, just as Miyuki and the head mistress, Nishito-iemoto, was arriving with the nurse. Shizuma ignored the women all together, and wrapped the ice more carefully in the paper towels it was in, and placed a small bag on his head, on his eye and nose ( Which were beginning to swell) And his arm, which he was now claiming he couldn't feel.

" Ohh, it hurts! My arm.. I can't feel my arm... My head hurts... It just.. hurts.." Zuko mewled pitifully. Shizuma took the arm in question and lifted it very slightly. Zuko gasped in renewed pain, and tears formed at his eyes, which he tried nobley to blink back. She nodded her head. "Just as I thought." She remarked in the general direction of the nurse and headmistress. " I think his arm is broken." Everyone gasped. What a terrible first day! There was no judgement in Headmistress Nishito-iemoto's eyes, but Shizuma knew bitterly that it would come later, when the woman chewed him out for causing such a big fuss.

Shizuma yelled for scissors, which a nearby first grader had a pair of in her sewing kit. Shizuma cut the surrounding cloth away from the break, and then applied ice to his arm. She ripped her two big puffy sleeves off her dress, leaving all the nearby girls gasping again, and used the material to create a makeshift splint.

Miyuki watched Shizuma go, ninety miles an hour, in pure amazement. Of all the things she had ever thought Shizuma to be, a novice doctor was not among them. And the care with which she treated him! It was as if she treated her own son! Everything she did was with loving, precise care. Miykui had grown used to Shizuma's lethargic, bored selfishness she had aquired in the past year, since... The Incident. She had forgotten the reason why Shizuma was Etoile in the first place, the reson why she had dozens of adoring fans, and why Miyuki herself had been taken with her.

Shizuma leaned into Zuko's face, and saw that he was starting to drift away. _I can't have that. _She thought grimly. _He might have a concussion. He has to stay awake. _So, with a sigh, she reached forward and slapped him twice. He gaped at her in surprise, and she could see that still, his eyes were having trouble staying open. _Poor boy, he must be going through hell. _She thought pityingly, and thne turned toward the also-gaping Nishita-Iemoto and the nurse, who straightened up immediately. "Nishita-san. Call an ambulance. I can keep him alive for the time being but I can't actually do _surgery _on him!" The woman nodded tightly and brought out her cell phone, dialing frantically. Shizuma turned toward the nurse. "Do you have a stretcher?" She asked levelly. The woman shook her head nervously.

Shizuma sighed, frustrated. " Alright, then we'll need to get some kind of a block to keep the girls from prodding and poking and gawping at him." She said angrily, pointing at the nearby group of girls, who obviously had had just that in mind. They guiltily looked at the floor. Miyuki, following Shizuma's lead, stalked over to the crowd of girls threateningly.

" _Why aren't you in class?" _She demanded. All the girls were back in their classes and gone before Miyuki had even finished her sentence. Satisfied, Miykui walked over to Shizuma. " Do you need anyth-"

"No." Shizuma said sharply. " Or rather, I need a stretcher and an ambulance, but I don't think you can provide that. Go back to class, Miyuki." Shizuma said, not looking up.

MIyuki was deeply hurt that Shizuma would act this way with her. " But, Shizum-"

"Go!" Shizuma barked.

Miykui took a step away, looking in surprise at her best friend. Then, with a bitter frown, she turned and stalked away to her room.

15 minutes later, the ambulance's blaring sirens could be heard, and three women ( Men still generally were not allowed on campus) rushed over with a stretcher.

Shizuma quickly explained to one of the women, " His head is bleeding, he may have a concussion. I wrapped it because his jaw appeared to be broken, and I put peroxide on his split lip and the cut on his head. I think he may have dislocated or even broken his arm, so I wrapped it in my sleeves."

The woman stopped for a moment and stared at Shizuma, as the other two began to load Zuko on a stretchre, and then she smiled. " You should be an emergency medical technician!" She said cheerfully. Shizuma did not smile. " I want to ride with him." She said quietly. The woman went to say no, I'm sorry, but then she looked at Shizuma a little more closely and wondered how well that would really go over. At first, she had appeared to the woman as just another little rich girl. But then she saw how Shizuma had without remorse teared her own clothes up, gotten her hands dirty ( Or bloody as the case may be) and basically taken control of the whole situation until the ambulance got there. The woman wondered if Shizuma might just jump on the back and ride anyway.

"... Alright, but don't let that head mistress of yours try to sue me for this!" She replied, and Shizuma smiled. The woman realized how unbelievably beautiful this girl was. She was stunning. _That boy in there doesn't know how lucky he is... Except for the 'falling down the stairs' part..._

Shizuma rode with them all the way to the hospital, explaining everything that had happened, what she had used, what she had done, whether she should have used this or that, them checking Zuko's vitals. They got to the hospital. Everything that had to do with what surgeries Zuko might need, what was broken and what wasn't, they told Shizuma without even thinking about it. Regardless of the situation, Shizuma was always at least a little bit in control. Zuko had indeed broken his jaw and his arm, but fortunately, did not have a concussion. He had also snapped his nose, which was why it was bleeding, anda rib was snapped, but they said not to worry about not being able to do anything for that - There's no way she could have known and not much she could do for it anyway. The doctors were all comending Shizuma on what she had done. " You did everything right." They said. " Except slapping him to keep him awake wasn't necessary. But it will make for a funny story once he's healed again!"

They told her that he should be back home in a week or two. Shizuma looked at them hard for a moment, and then nodded her head. " I guess it can't be helped, then." They glanced at her in surprise. " What do you mean?"

" I'll just have to stay here with him." She replied coolly. They all stopped to look at her. Here was this seventeen year old, moon-light-haired, georgious girl, wearing a black lolita dress spattered in blood, sleeves ripped off, standing just as if she were the queen of England, saying that she would stay with the new student at her school in the hospital for two weeks. They were absolutely speechless. Then one doctor, quite unaffected by Shizuma, said, "You're welcome to stay during visiting hours, but you can't just stay in his room all night and day. And certainly not during his surgeries! And I can't allow you to skip school. That's truancy, and I won't have someone breakingthe law in my hospital." She said stolidly.

"It's a family emergency." Replied Shizuma coldly. She turned back, and looked at Zuko, who was in a bed, being prepared for surgery. " I'll use the time he's in surgery to eat. The rest of the time, I will stay wiith him. I want to stay with him overnight. I would greatly appreciate it if you could arrange another bed, or mattress. At least, if nothing else, a pillow will suffice. I can sleep on the floor." All the doctors stared in amazement. The sharp woman who had spoken looked angry, her lip turning back, and she started to speak, when the head nurse walked in.

" That will be fine, Shizuma-san, but please don't bother him when he sleeps. I'm sure you understand, he must rest whenever he can, and it will be much less easy to do so nnow that he is in constant pain." The woman explained. Shizuma's face softened and she smiled, nodding. " Thank you, Mastushura-sempai. I greatly appreciate it." She smiled, looking again at her wilted flower. _He will bloom again, I am sure of it._

**(*) Here is a picture of the basic uniform Zuko is wearing :D .com/art/HVI-Male-Uniform-81233141**

**Ha, nice chapter half, right? Man, what is it with me and loving to have Zuko get hurt really bad? Hm.. I don't know.. Anyway, tune in to part two of chapter two, and see how Shizuma and Zuko interact while Zuko is in the hospital! :D**


	4. Page 2 Chapter 2

**Zuko and Shizuma in the hospital together, Zuko the patient Shizuma ****the**** watchful protector.... XD Page 2**

Shizuma came into the room with tears in her eyes. She hadn't benable to get That Girl out of her mind since she stepped into the hospital, but she had accidentally passed by the childrens ward and for a fleeting instant, a young girl with leukemia had faintly resembled... Shizuma tried to push it out her mind, hastily wiping away tears.

Shizuma sat down gingerly on the thin foam hospital-mattress they had set down for her, and looked up at Zuko. He had nearly slept the entire time he was at the hospital, and she certainly expected him to be asleep now, at nearly 10 PM, but when her eyes fell on his face, they were met by his own eyes, the brilliant, curious-but-mellow gold almost glowing in the dark of the room.

She smiled tiredly at him. She had been bustled in and out of his room all day, and had gotten little to eat. She had come to the room with the intention of falling on her face and being asleep before she hit the pillow, but now that she was here, she felt strangely comfortable being awake.

Shizuma was lying on a mattress directly adjacent to Zuko, and she leaned up to rest a hand on his cheek. He was still a bit high from the drugs the had given him from the surgery - the first of many had been held today. As for his ribs, they could only wrap it very tightly in gauze to keep him from moving it too much - They have no way to make a broken rib heal faster, but they can make it heal efficiently. He looked down at her with an oddly pained expression.

Slowly, he opened his mouth to speak, his words slurred a little from the drugs and the swollen lip," Who made you so sad, Shizuma?" He asked drunkenly.

She smiled again, a bit grimly this time, and said, " I believe it was an angel." Then her face softened with sadness. " What about you, my blossom? Who has scorched your lovely petal?" She prodded gently.

Zuko's face got stormy with babyish anger, and he grumbled, " It doesn't matter. All that matters is that I'm ugly. Especially next to you - why would they put the most beautiful girl in school - no, the most beautiful girl, period, to take care of _me? _I'm not a blossom, I'm a weed." He finished stormily, and turned over on his bed.

Shizuma stared, her heart heavy for this poor boy, but refused to let the night end like this. She stood up quietly, and leaned over him. She tapped his shoulder, and he turned ovre bitterly, but was surprised when he found himself face to face with the georgious girl. Her expression was somber, and certain.

" I don't think you're ugly, Zuko-chan." She murmured, and leaned down onto him. Slowly, hesitating for only the second time in her life, she met his lips with her own, and he gasped as he realized what was going on. Her hand found it's way to his cheek, his good one, because she wasn't sure if his scar was painful to touch, and put the other one on the back of his head.

He was still shocked, but all the repressed desire he held for the older girl was simply too much, and he found himself give in to her tongue, pressing gently against his lips, and wrapped his arms around her back. She wrestled playfully with his tongue for a moment, tasting the spicy-sweet taste of his mouth. He finally pushed her back gently, gasping for breath. " Maybe we shouldn't do this here... Breathing this hard is going to upset my rib." He joked weakly, but she saw him reach his hand for his chest. She crawled back onto her mattress, and murmured, " You never answered my question..."

But when she looked up, Zuko was already asleep again.

..............................

Shizuma woke the next morning to a bunch of nurses crowded around Zuko. They were taking his blood pressure, checking his vitals, all the nurse-like things they should do, but then, Shizuma heard it - whispering.

"Oh, the poor boy, what do you suppose happened to him?"

" I can't very well imagine he gets any girls with that scar of his..."

"Psh, the boy probably doesn't _want_ girls - you know how much teenage girls worry about appearances!"

" Good grief, how can he wake up to look at _that _face in the morning?"

Shizuma had had quite more than she could take. She stood up sharply and walked over to the gossiping women, and stood directly behind them until they became aware of her presence on their own, and they slowly turned around to meet her accusing eyes, mouth set firmly.

Shizuma spoke in a dark low voice, " I would appreciate it if conversation in here was limited to discussing Zuko's condition, not his _appearance."_

All the women swallowed, not concerned with the fact that they were being told what to do by a _seventeen year old, _but concerned with the fact that she talked to them as if she were a queen and they were bugs underfoot that she was seriously considering squashing. They all nodded nervously, and finished with their work as quickly as they could, and then nearly _ran _from the room.

Zuko, who had quietly been awake and watching, from the rude comments to Shizuma's quiet warning, looked up at her, mildly, and said," You didn't need to do that, you know. I'm really used to it, it doesn't bother me..."

She frowned, and said, " No, I don't think it's ok." She smiled then, and said, " Besides, remember what I said last night?"

Now it was his turn to frown. "No, actually. I don't remember any of last night, or even yesterday."

Shizuma gaped for a moment. The wall she had destroyed between them had sprung back up, and now there was no way for her to make a repeat performance. They would never get that moment back. _Dammit! _She thought angrily. _Damn those hospital drugs!! _Then she closed her mouth and smiled, albeit halfheartedly.

" It was nothing important." Then, a bit riskily, added," Zuko-chan was going to tell me how he got his scar, but then he fell asleep."

Zuko moaned and threw his head back into the pillow. _Damn my drug-induced honesty! Now she wants an answer..._

He sighed and said something like, " I really just don't feel comfortable talking about it, you know, I mean it only happened a year ago, it's just... no."

Shizuma sighed in quiet frustration, and then looked up at Zuko understandingly. " That's fine. I won't bother you about it..." Silently she cursed whoever had done it. All she wanted was for Zuko to burst into healing tears and tell her the whole story so she could hold him and tell him it was okay. She was surprised at herself. She had never much been the motherly type. _He's changing me, _she realized.

**Ch.2 end. Well? Anyone? Eh? Eh? Not too bad, right? WELL? ANYBODY!? Look forward to next chapter, when**** Zuko's fangirls from the world of Avatar AND Miator hear of Zuko's stay in the hospital, and Shizuma's admirers hear that she is staying with him! Shameless fanservice, jealousy, desire, bitchiness, fan-obsession,betrayal, revenge, and general drama await! :D**


	5. Page 1 Chapter 3

Shizuma, on the fourth day, became aware that she had been wearing the same clothes the entire time. She needed to go home and change, and get some clothes and other necessities.


End file.
